Final Fantasy VI The Chaos Factor
by Fics by Elle
Summary: Shortly after the defeat of Kefka, the heroes find themselves trying to return to a somewhat normal life. But for Terra, who was raised by Kefka to be a human weapon, she is finding it extremely hard to adjust. And as fate would have it, her adventures ar
1. Part One

**Final Fantasy 6: The Chaos Factor**

**Part One**

Terra Branford sat quietly beside the large picture window in her chambers at Figaro Castle watching the cloudless night sky over the surrounding desert. It was hard to imagine that only a few months ago, she and her comrades had battled the evil and quite insane magician Kefka to save the world. It was hard to imagine that the world would not have survived if the group of mismatched vagrants had failed. 

There was a light tapping on her door and Terra turned to see the tall Sabin Figaro letting himself in. Sabin had gotten in the habit of dropping by her chambers to talk before he went to bed. Terra was beginning to realize that she looked forward to his visits. It was the highlight of her days spent in the secluded desert castle. Sabin flashed his handsome smile at her and joined her at the window. She returned his smile. 

"Edgar is hosting another party," Sabin stated as he lounged back against the wall and put his arms behind his head. "He said that he invited you." 

"He did," Terra confirmed. 

"He's going to be upset that you weren't there," Sabin commented. 

"He'll have to suffer without me," Terra chuckled lightly. 

Sabin fell silent a moment and searched Terra's face with his intense blue eyes. Terra met his gaze with her pale green eyes, wondering what the normally jovial and talkative Sabin was thinking about. 

"I've decided to leave Figaro for a while," Sabin blurted as he folded hands in his lap and kept his eyes down. "Even though my training has concluded with Master Duncan, there is still much more for me to learn from other instructors." 

Terra nodded with a pang of disappointment in her heart as she studied his handsome downcast face. 

"I leave tomorrow morning," Sabin continued while shifting his gaze to the window. "And I don't know how long I'm going to be gone." He looked at her then with a trace of sorrow in him expression. "I hope that you understand." 

Terra nodded again and faked a smile. 

"I understand," Terra whispered after a long moment of silence. "You have to do what is best for you." 

Sabin smiled and relaxed visibly. 

"I knew that you would understand, Terra. My brother is driving me crazy with all his hero talk and I need to get away. I've been too lax in my training." 

Sabin watched Terra a moment and when she didn't respond he rose. 

"I suppose that this is good-bye then," Sabin stated as he looked down at her. Terra looked up at him and couldn't read his face. 

"Yes," Terra breathed as she stood up beside him. "Good-bye." 

Sabin hugged her then, the first time that he had ever touched her. He wrapped his strong arms around her waist and pulled her close. He buried his face into her shoulder and sighed. Then, as quickly as he had embraced her, he let go. Terra didn't even get the chance to return the embrace. And then Sabin walked to the door and left her. 

Terra stood for a long moment staring at the door and wondering what life would be like in the castle with out Sabin. Sabin was her only friend. Sure, there was his twin brother Edgar, but Edgar was busy attending to the state of the kingdom. And Edgar had given up courting Terra before the adventures began with Kefka. Terra had been flattered but unreceptive, thinking herself too much of an oddity to stand a chance with Edgar. Terra preferred the less boastful twin anyway. 

Terra sighed again and went to her vanity and looked in the mirror. Terra still hadn't gotten used to her new appearance, even though it had been months. She still thought it strange to see her face framed with dark blond hair instead of dark green and her eyes had calmed from an angry green to a pale green. She was completely human. She could no longer see any trace of her Esper half, no trace of her father, Madiun. She was an exact copy of her mother, Madonna. 

Terra knew that losing the Espers and all magic was going to be the outcome of the final battle with Kefka. It was the only way to destroy Kefka and save the world. But it still startled her to see herself so differently and to be without the one extraordinary talent that she had. Now she was ordinary, like everyone else. 

_Isn't this what I wanted?_ Terra thought to herself as she watched herself in the mirror. _Isn't this what I prayed for? To be like everyone else? I have what I want, so why aren't I happy?_ Terra knew the answer to that too. She didn't have true love in her life. She didn't even know what the word meant. Terra thought that if she could find true love then maybe she would finally be happy. 

Terra knew that she cared for Sabin and that she was going to miss him terribly while he was gone. But did she love Sabin? She just didn't know and maybe never would. Was Edgar in love with any of the women that he entertained at his parties? Terra didn't think so even though she had heard Edgar say as much to each of them. 

Terra pushed thoughts of love out of her mind and looked at her reflection. She brushed her hair absently and wove it into a single braid, tied with a ribbon. Sleep would help her clear her thoughts. Or help her forget. 

* * * 

Sabin knew that Terra was hurt that he was leaving the castle. Terra was his best friend, the one that he went to with all his problems. But Terra couldn't help him with his wanderlust or his restlessness. Sabin just needed to be free of the castle and of Figaro. There was nothing that Terra could do. 

Sabin left her chambers knowing that when he returned that things would never be the same between them. The sound of her door behind him sounded like his opportunity collapsing with her. 

_She doesn't think of me as anything more then a friend,_ Sabin rationalized as he marched down the corridor to the stairwell. _She'll fall in love with some dignitary from somewhere and forget about me._ That thought made him angry. He could have stood on his head and juggled knives and she wouldn't have batted an eye. But then again Terra was like no other woman that he had met before. She hadn't had what you would call an ordinary life. Raised in a genetic laboratory and used as a human weapon tends to do strange things to a person. But Terra was amazing and completely oblivious to Sabin's feelings. 

Sabin was so cross with the situation that he didn't see his twin brother step out in front of him from one of the side corridors. Edgar grabbed his brother's shoulders to keep the muscle bound man from running over him. Sabin came out of his haze and looked surprised at his slightly lesser twin. 

"Out for a late night stroll?" Edgar asked with a feint smirk as his brother pulled back and adjusted his jerkin. 

"I was heading to my chambers," Sabin replied in a matter of fact tone. 

"I know that you are leaving in the morning," Edgar said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You've got that look about you." 

"And what of it?" Sabin asked as he shifted all his weight to one leg and watched his brother. Edgar just shrugged but then glanced behind Sabin to where Terra's chambers lay. 

"How did she take it?" Edgar asked after a moment of silence. 

Sabin didn't answer for a moment; he just looked back to Terra's chambers. 

"She took it alright," Sabin said as he looked down at the floor. Edgar studied him. 

"You love her, don't you?" Edgar asked softly as he laid a hand on his strong brother. Sabin stiffened and shoved his brother's hand aside; his eyes met Edgar's defiantly. "It's alright if you do, Sabin. You don't need to be so touchy about it. It's about time that you found someone." 

"Is that all that you wanted?" Sabin demanded as he angrily stared at his arrogant other half. "To talk about my love life?" 

"I'm sure that your training doesn't require your celibacy, Sabin," Edgar began. Sabin shot Edgar a warning glance and Edgar knew he crossed the line and dropped the subject. 

"I bid you good night, your majesty," Sabin hissed between clenched teeth as he pushed his brother aside and continued down the dimly lit corridor. He didn't even turn to see what his brother's reaction was; he just bound up the stairs two at a time to his chambers in the south tower and to peace and quiet. 


	2. Part Two

**Part Two**

Terra jumped lightly down the last few stone steps of the front gate and into the desert that surrounded the old castle of Figaro. It was still early and the desert cool and calm. The morning sun felt good on her bare arms and face. The guard was patrolling as usual around the parameter of the castle mounted on yellow chocobos, large birds used as mounts. Several of the guards nodded or smiled to her as she strolled past on a path to the chocobo stables. 

An older gentleman on patrol reigned in his chocobo as he saw Terra coming and un-mounted. He removed his helmet just as Terra walked up and his long black hair tumbled down his back held in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. 

"Ho Lady Terra," the older gentleman greeted with a bow. "What brings you out here on this beautiful morning?" 

"I was hoping to ride a chocobo today," Terra stated as she smiled sweetly at the aging soldier. Cyan, once the Retainer of Doma now the Captain of the Guard at Figaro, laughed heartily at her request. 

"And you think that I'm going to let you?" Cyan chuckled and shook his head. "Of course I would." He whistled shrilly and with in seconds, a young stable boy trotted up with another yellow chocobo in tow with saddle and harness ready. The boy passed the reins off to Terra and sprinted away again. 

Cyan put his helmet back on as Terra mounted her chocobo. The bird shifted underneath her weight but settled after only a moment. She kicked the bird into a trot down the well-worn road to South Figaro. 

It had been a several months since Sabin had gone, almost half a years worth. Terra had occupied her time with learning to do various things around the castle. None that she did spectacularly well, but it entertained her. Her only pleasure left was a chocobo ride. And she rarely asked for one because Cyan was normally very busy with training the guards. But every once in a while, when she grew tired of painting and needlepoint, she asked Cyan.  Maybe he was sympathetic to her plight of utter boredom and nothing to make her feel useful. Or maybe he looked upon her as the daughter that he never had. 

The sand crunched beneath the chocobo's feet as it ran. Terra could see the Figaro Mountains rising on the horizon and she knew that she should turn the beast around and head back to the castle. She reined the bird to a halt and almost turned until she noticed a small dust cloud ahead of her on the road. She watched for a moment and just as she presumed, a small caravan came into view. 

"Terra!!" shouted a voice that Terra recognized instantly and one of the leaders of the caravan waved to her. She kicked the animal forward until she could see the people's faces more easily. 

Then she smiled and dismounted as the caravan grew near and the leaders dismounted too. 

"Bet you didn't think that you would see your pal Locke, Treasure Hunter Extraordinaire, again so soon did you?" greeted a tall lanky man as he ran up to her and hugged her. Terra laughed as he swung her around and then set her down. His companion, a tall muscular woman with pale blond hair and intense green eyes trotted up beside him. 

"Celes!" Terra shouted in excitement and hugged the woman, who laughed and hugged her back. "Where in the world have you been?" Terra laughed and then she noticed Celes' stomach. "And what happened to you?!" 

Celes put her hand on her round stomach and smiled. But it was Locke that answered: "We are making ourselves a little family." He laughed and put an arm around Celes and kissed her on the cheek. "This here is our little boy." And he rubbed Celes' swollen belly. 

"Our daughter," Celes corrected with a wink at Terra. Terra laughed. 

"When are you expecting?" Terra asked as she glanced between the expecting parents. 

"Four more months to go," Celes replied with a smile as she patted her stomach. 

"How are things here at the castle?" Locke asked as the rest of the caravan caught up. All three mounted again and walked the chocobos back to the castle. 

"Fine I suppose," Terra began. "A little monotonous." 

Locke nodded, still wearing a smile. 

"We bring news from the south," Celes stated with a weary look at Locke. Terra sensed something wrong. "We need to see Edgar right away." She looked at Terra imploringly. 

"I don't think that is going to be a problem," Terra admitted as the castle came into view and she saw the guards spreading the word about who was coming. "What's happened?" 

Locke shook his head and glanced around at the other people that traveled with them. Merchants, the likes of which came to Castle Figaro all the time, rode all of the wagons and chocobos. There were a few vagrants walking between the wagons, all carried some form a weapon and who would sell their services as a bodyguard to make money, and even a bard with a lute slung over his shoulder and a billowing feather in his hat. Nothing looked suspicious. But Terra knew that Locke must have reason not to say what his news was. 

Edgar was coming out the front gates just as the caravan neared, his chancellor at his side. He smiled grandly and shouted his welcome. Terra tuned him out because she had heard his winded welcomes before and didn't want to listen to his boasting. She dismounted and let her chocobo be led to the stables by the stable boy along with the other chocobos. Celes and Locke were herded into the castle quickly and Terra followed, barely noticed. The rest of the caravan had to go through the guard stations to get inside the castle. 

"What is this news you bring me, Locke. What is so ghastly that I must send away all my servants?" Edgar asked as Celes closed the throne room door behind Terra and the chancellor. 

"War," Locke stated and the one word echoed through the expanse of the large stone room. "The southern continent is in civil war. A heretic is claiming that he can bring back magic.  His followers call those that do not follow his teachings traitors and wage war against them.  The situation looks bleak."

"I can imagine," Edgar conceded as his boastful and conceited self melted away and he became very serious and somber, something that Terra hadn't seen in a while. "What about the new King there? King Teagan, was it?" 

Locke frowned. 

"He's disappeared," Locke admitted with a concerned look at Celes. Terra felt a pang of jealousy for what Locke and Celes had. "There was an uprising on Albrook and no one could find him afterward."

"And there has been talk that the magic heretic is coming north," Celes added with her arms around her swollen stomach protectively. 

"But there is no way that anyone can bring the magic back," Terra protested from the back of the room where she had been standing unnoticed. "We all know that." 

"But the people don't," Celes replied as she turned to Terra. "We never told anyone else about the Espers and the magic. And with Kefka dead we shouldn't have to worry about magic resurfacing. But then again there is this nut job down south. If he gains much more support, he's going to be a real problem." 

"The only thing that we can do," Edgar concluded, drawing the attention back to himself again. "Is nothing. Just stand on guard. Maybe send some scouts to get more information." Locke began to protest. "We can't march down there and smash them with out just cause, Locke." Edgar shook his head. "Not without drawing a noose around our own throats." 

Edgar looked much older at that moment then his twenty-seven years. He rubbed his forehead in thought and sighed. Locke and Celes looked at each other then dismissed themselves. Terra stayed a moment longer until Cyan came in.  That was her cue to leave before the war council began. 

Locke and Celes where already gone when Terra got out of the throne room into the courtyard area. Her shoulders drooped in disappointment. But she wasn't at all surprised that they had gone off alone. They at least had each other. And again her thoughts returned to Sabin. Why was she thinking about him? She shook her head to clear it. 

The courtyard was a bustle with all the new merchants in the castle from the caravan. Some had rugs laid out alongside the buildings with their wares displayed for everyone to see and some just shouted what they had above the crowd noise and pulled the item out of a pocket when asked. 

Terra sighed and knew that the day's excitement was over and walked back to her room to try her hand at some embroidery one of the servants taught her. 

* * * 

Rumors began to filter in from South Figaro and other cities about the fanatic on the southern continent. Terra heard them mentioned among the servants and the guards. Every couple of weeks, more merchants arrived at the castle, bringing new stories, while the other merchants moved on to other cities. By now, everyone knew that King Teagan had disappeared. Some speculated that he had fled the continent with his tail tugged between his legs. Some said that he had been killed and others went as far to say that he had assumed a different identity to get close to the leader of the fanatical group to kill him. Terra listened to such tales when she could and imagined her own versions. All the stories though had given the fanatical leader a name. They all called him Zemus. 

"I half wish that Zemus would come to Figaro," Terra said to herself before the evening meal. "Then maybe it wouldn't be so boring here." She stood in front of her mirror for the second time that day, and examined herself. Celes has braided her hair that morning; it was a complex braid that started on top of her head and folded in on itself neatly and cascaded all the way down her head to taper off into a long braid ending halfway down her back. Only a few wisps of hair framed her delicate face. She smoothed the crimson silk of her dress over her stomach and absently adjusted her long sleeves. The dress hugged her torso, chest, and arms but billowed once it reached her hips. She tilted her head as she looked at herself looking unlike herself. Celes had brought her the dress and after weeks of pressure Terra finally caved in and put it on. Dresses were not really her thing though. She preferred a pair of breaches and a tunic, more freedom of movement. 

Terra turned a little, looking at her skinny body encased in the shimmering crimson silk. She eventually sighed to herself and left for the dining hall contemplating the possible reactions she would get when she got there. And wondering whom Edgar was entertaining this week. The week before, it had been the wife of a wealthy nobleman and his teenaged daughter. Edgar had both women throwing themselves at him and he wasn't receptive to either. Celes had merely laughed while Terra thought that it was disgusting. 

As Terra approached the dinning hall, she heard the bard singing while he played his lute. The bard, Edwin, had come a few weeks after Locke and Celes arrived. He was frequent in the dinner halls when Edgar was going to have a party. And tonight was no exception. Terra entered the dinning hall to see the crescent shaped dinning table filled with noble men and women, soldiers, and Edgar, Locke, and Celes in the center with an empty chair for Terra. 

Terra stopped and stood perfectly still as the room fell quiet and all eyes fell on her. Even the bard stopped his playing. She felt her face redden with embarrassment. 

"What a vision of loveliness," Edgar proclaimed over the silence of the room as he stood from his place at the table. He strode around the table and met her at the doorway, clasping her hand in his and bowing to kiss it. "Come sit by me." 

Terra was used to Edgar's dramatics and walked beside him around the dinning table, past half of the noble men and women, and the soldiers, to the empty table setting next to Edgar's setting and Celes'. 

"You look beautiful," the very pregnant Celes whispered to Terra as she sat down. The bard had resumed his playing. "I never thought that you would try that on while I was here." 

"Then why is everyone staring at me?" Terra asked in a hushed tone as the servants brought the meal forth and began serving the food. 

"Because they finally realize," Locke piped up from the other side of Celes, "that underneath the tomboyish soldier woman is a lady of beauty and refinement." Terra's cheeks began to burn with embarrassment. She turned away from the happy couple and saw Edgar flirting with the buxom red head sitting next to him. The red head glared at Terra with her blue eyes and Terra just sighed. 

_Another thrilling evening ahead_, Terra thought absently as she sipped from her wine glass. The servants flowed in from the small hidden doors in the wall with plates of meticulously prepared food and set them in front of every person sat at the table. She poked at her meal a bit with her fork as the rest of the guests gorged themselves on salad, some roasted bird, and other fruits and vegetables. But Terra's appetite was gone due to the pastry she had conned from the cook that afternoon. 

Pretty soon, most the people at the table had eaten their fill. The plates were cleared and the servants kept the wine glasses full. Celes and Locke excused themselves politely as soon as the meal was completed, Celes not wanting to drink wine for the sake of her unborn child. Edgar had the red head on his lap, both laughing at a joke he had told. She heard one of the soldiers asking her name from a couple chairs down. She frowned a little, took one last sip from her cup and stood from the table. 

"Leaving so soon?" Edgar asked as he stood up to face her. The red head was dumped from his lap and barely remained standing. She glared at Terra from behind Edgar's large frame. "The party has just begun. You can't leave now." He fixed her with a dashing smile, something that he had perfected from years of practice. 

"I'm tired," Terra muttered as her gaze roamed around the table watching the inebriated guests. 

"It's only an hour past sun set," Edgar protested as he caught her delicate hand her his large calloused hand. "There are many men here wanting to make your company." 

"No," Terra replied as she fixed him with a confused look. "I don't feel well." 

"It's just the wine," Edgar laughed. "Maybe you have had too much?" 

"I am going to bed," Terra stated as she turned and pulled her hand free from Edgar's. Her legs felt a little weak beneath her, but she strode out of the dinning hall as confident as she could. She heard Edgar say something but he undoubtedly returned his attention to the redhead more receptive to his affection. 

The corridor was dim, lit by sparse electrical lights mounted on the walls that cast a strange yellow light on the floor. Terra's head began to tingle and a trace pain began in the front of her skull. The sounds of the dinning hall faded away as she marched down the corridor to get to her room. All she could think of was crawling in her soft bed to sleep away the dizziness and the pain in her head. 

Terra was so focused on putting one foot in front of one another that she didn't see the person step out in front of her. She ran into him and stumbled back a few steps. She looked at the man with blurred vision. 

"Sabin?" she breathed in confusion as her legs finally gave out and she fell forward into the man's strong arms. 

"No," was all the man said as Terra lost consciousness and he picked her up. With one quick glance toward the banquet hall, he turned on his heels and quickly strode away. 


	3. Part Three

**Part Three**

Figaro Castle gates swung open heavily and Sabin entered his childhood home with a small twinge of regret. He was back at the place that he had fled from twice. But he also felt hope. He had come home to see Terra and tell her about how he felt. He thought about how he was going to greet Terra when she saw him. It had been six months since he had seen her. He wondered if she was going to be happy to see him. If she would smile the secret smile she only showed when she was very happy. He smiled broadly at the thought. 

The courtyard of the castle was a bustle with merchants and tradesmen as usual. They all shouted over one another in the mid morning sun. Sabin, used to the scene, tuned them out and marched through the crowd to the strong medal doors that lead into the castle itself to find Terra. But Edgar stood before the door shouting orders at soldiers who scurried about in different directions. 

"What's going on?" Sabin demanded as he saw the chaos before him. 

"Terra's been kidnapped," Edgar snapped with out so much as a welcome to his twin brother. Locke and Celes ran up at that moment. "She disappeared sometime last night." 

"Cyan said that there is a chocobo missing from the stables," Celes announced. "But the stable boy didn't hear anything last night." 

"We have to go after her," Locke stated and Sabin looked at him in mild surprise. Sabin hadn't expected to see Locke or Celes for a long while. And Celes was very pregnant. 

"Count me in," Edgar said as he clapped Sabin on the shoulder. 

"Then lets go," Locke chimed. Locke looked at Celes but she shook her head and patted her stomach. Locke smiled and kissed her, then took off after the twins already half way to the stables. 

"Why would anyone want to kidnap Terra?" Sabin demanded as the stable boy ran forward with three chocobo in tow. The boy bowed deeply to Edgar. 

"There are chocobo tracks headed north, your majesty," the boy said while still bowed. With out a word, the three men mounted the chocobos and headed north at a dead run. 

"I don't know," Edgar yelled over the wind, wisps of his blond hair flying into his face. Sabin could tell that there was something on his brother's mind. But that would have to wait. They needed to get Terra back at the moment. 

After a few minutes hard riding, they came upon the missing chocobo tied to a steak in the ground. 

"Damn it," Edgar spat as he pulled his chocobo to a stop. The other two did so too. They looked around but saw no more tracks. Just a strange pattern in the sand. 

"This looks like an airship take off," Sabin said as he examined the pattern. 

"Setzer?" Locke asked with concern. 

"No," Edgar denied as he shook his head. "Setzer may be a gambler but he's not a kidnapper." 

"Edgar," Locke warned. "Did you forget how we got onto his airship in the first place? He kidnapped Celes right in front of a live audience." 

"Setzer wouldn't kidnap Terra," Edgar reiterated. "He's too smart to try it." 

"But who?" Sabin asked as he searched the early morning sky for an airship. 

"I have no idea," Edgar replied. 

"Do you know where Setzer is?" Sabin asked as the group started walking the chocobos back to Figaro. 

"I have flares to signal him, but that's it," Edgar replied. 

"Then we will have to do that," Sabin resigned as he turned his chocobo back toward the castle. Locke untied the abandoned chocobo and lead it behind him. 

* * * 

The flare shot up in the night sky in an arc of red flame and shattered into a million shards of light. The group of heroes stood on the tower and heard the crackle of the flare as it burned in the midnight air.

"I hope that he sees this," Celes remarked as she put her arm around Locke's waist. He hugged her close. She watched as another flare was shot into the air, this time a brilliant green one. 

"If he is in the area," Locke muttered quietly. Edgar and Sabin watched the flare shoot and illuminate the sky. Sabin kept checking the sky for any sign of the airship. The third flare shot up, a dazzling orange color. And again Sabin watched the sky for some sign. 

Celes watched as Sabin tried to light a fourth flare and Edgar argued against it. And Sabin shoved his brother aside. 

"Surely wasting the flares isn't going to do any good," Celes uttered. 

"I don't know," Locke replied as he let go of Celes and mumbled: "Better stop these two up before they break something." 

Celes watched as her lover dodged punches and got the two men settled down, and wondered what had crazed Sabin. He was normally more level headed then Edgar. She had never seen him like this before. 

Celes sighed and felt the wind pick up from behind her. She turned and saw lights in the sky outlining a large blimp-like airship. From behind her, she heard a whoop that could only have been Sabin and people running down the stone steps to greet their old friend. Celes gingerly followed feeling more tired then she had been in a long time. 

Celes got to the courtyard just as Setzer set his airship down outside the front gates. Sabin, Locke, and Edgar all waited there for him. Setzer jumped over the railing and to the ground to greet them all. He hadn't changed a bit. 

* * * 

Blackness. 

The last thing that she remembered was seeing Sabin in the dark hallway on the way to her room. But Sabin had been gone for six months. How could she have seen him? That didn't make sense. Terra tried to remember what happened but she didn't remember getting to her room or to her bed. 

Her head was reeling. And her stomach didn't want to stay put. She knew that very soon she was going to lose her dinner. Or maybe she already had. Her mouth tasted awful. 

Then she heard something. Voices. But she didn't recognize either of the two voices. She tried to focus. 

" . . . come after her," a female voice was saying. "Not worth the trouble." 

"You worry too much," replied a second deeper voice, a male. "We'll get paid, what more do you want?" 

There were some muffled words that she couldn't understand. 

"1,000,000 gold pieces!" the woman's voice shouted in surprise. "For her?" 

_Ransom,_ she thought. That was a lot of money, even for the King of Figaro. Would they pay it? She tried to shake her head but it barely moved. But her stomach protested and she vomited. Then wished that she hadn't tried to clear her head. 

"Did you have to use that stuff to put her out?" the female voice asked. "She already started to vomit." 

"It was the only thing we had to put her out quickly," the man's voice said. "You forgot to restock the ship before the mission." 

"Not my fault," the first voice protested sarcastically as it grew feint and disappeared. 

"Sure," the second voice mumbled close to her ear. She would have jumped at the sudden nearness of it if she could have gotten her body to respond any other way then vomiting. She felt her head being lifted from the floor and heard the person wipe clean the floor beneath her. And then her mouth was being wiped clean. 

"Who are you that you are worth 1,000,000 gold pieces, Terra Branford?" the voice asked quietly. And then she heard boots walking away. 

* * * 

"So you want me to follow some psychopath to god knows where because he kidnapped Terra?" Setzer asked like it was the most normal conversation topic in the world while the band of heroes stood in the parlor of the airship's spacious hull. 

"Yes," Sabin replied while staring intently at Setzer. 

"Just like old times," the rogue laughed to himself as he flipped his long white hair out of his face. "I'm game. Who's with me?" 

"We should leave as soon as possible," Sabin urged. 

"The Falcon here is always ready," Setzer cooed as he touched the hewn wood of the airships hull. 

"Good, then we can leave now," Edgar smiled. Setzer nodded and reached behind him to a dangling rope tasseled at the end. He pulled down and a whistle blew. The heroes heard racing footsteps and shouted commands. 

"It's taxing being a hero," Setzer chuckled as the ship lurched free of the ground and became buoyant. "Everyone wants to work for you." 

Locke rolled his eyes. 

"You better get some sleep," Setzer told the group who all nodded wearily. "My boys will keep an eye out for the other airship. It can't be that hard to find. There are, after all, only two." Setzer caught Celes' eye and winked at her with a sly smirk on his face. Celes rolled her eyes and followed the others out of his parlor. He was left alone with his thoughts. 

* * * 

"Patriot!" Granger shouted as he stumbled up onto the airship deck in a half waking state. "What the hell are you doing?" He steadied himself against another hard course correction, the wind berating his large frame wildly. 

"We are not alone," the young woman spat back at him as she held the wheel, turning the airship, then letting go letting the wheel spin back to its resting position, straightening the course. "It looks like another airship." 

"How far from the ocean are we?" Granger asked as he gazed behind them to see the lights of another airship on the dark horizon. 

"Half a day at least," Patriot replied. "I don't think that they have seen us though. Do you think that they are trying to rescue the girl?" 

"Possibly," Granger agreed. "Find a clearing in the forest below to land and shut everything down. We'll spend the night here. Head out in the morning for Vector to deliver the girl and collect our gold." 

Patriot began the landing procedure by bringing the airship to a stop in midair. It hovered for a moment; its helium filled balloon holding the wooden ship aloft, and then began to sink into the lush forest beneath it and into the clearing Patriot had guided it to. There was a final jerk as the airship contacted the earth. The engines powered down until all was quiet. 

"Go to sleep," Granger said to Patriot as she stepped away from the helm of the ship. "I'll check on our guest and batten down." Patriot nodded and walked around him to the wooden step that led down into the bowels of the ship. 


	4. Part Four

**Part Four**

Terra sat up, bracing herself against the floor, her head pounding and her stomach empty. She was amazed that she hadn't started vomiting when the ship pitched right and then left. It had sent her into a dizzy haze; one that she was still recovering from. But for now, all was silent. She could even hear crickets outside, and the cawing of some unknown bird. 

Terra sat for a while debating whether or not to try and stand up. She knew that she should look for a way out while everything was quiet. Her soldier training would come in handy if only she could get her body to respond properly. And that might be a problem. 

Terra heard leather boots passing along the wood floor outside the room that she was occupying. The metal latch on the door clanked and the door was pulled open. Feint light spilled in from a lantern that the door opener held. All Terra could see were the hard line of his face, the rest of him was covered in shadow. But even in the poor lighting, Terra was reminded of Sabin. So it was this man that had kidnapped her. 

"Awake I see," the Sabin shadow said in a strangely familiar low voice. He stepped into the room while setting his lantern on a shelf near the doorway. He pulled something off his belt and Terra recognized it as rope. Her instincts kicked in and she tried to stand to run away, but she only managed in tripping over her own limbs and falling in an uncomfortable position. Within a moment, the stranger had her, pulling her out of her self-imposed tangle, and sat her down. He bound her wrists together, taking care that she couldn't untie the knots while still bound. He did the same with her ankles. 

Terra's mind raced. So many things ran through her head that she couldn't grasp a single idea and implement it. So instead of asking why she was kidnapped or fighting with all her faded strength, she stared at the Sabin-like man with her eyes wide open.  His resemblance to Sabin was astonishing.  

"Don't think ill of me, Terra," the man finally said as he sat back to admire his handy work. "It wasn't I that wished you evil. I'm just being paid by him." 

"Zemus?" Terra managed to ask in a half croaked tone. She coughed a few times. 

The strange man's brows rose in surprise. 

"Yes," he admitted. "That is my employer. I see that his deeds have reached the northern continent." 

"My comrades are already on their way to rescue me," Terra stated defiantly.  "You will not succeed."

"I already have," the man said.  "Not even your Sabin will be able to find you now."

Terra's breath caught in her throat as the man chucked then he stood and walked away, taking the lantern and closing the door behind him. She listened to his footsteps as they grew softer and disappeared. She was left in complete darkness. 

Terra scooted herself back against the wall and leaned her head back. The wall was made of wood, the planks about a foot in height. The wood was cool against her back. It was then that she realized that she still wore the red dress from the day before. The skirt was rumpled and tangled around her knees. The bodice was twisted around her uncomfortably. Terra sighed and tried to rearrange the dress despite her binding. 

* * * 

"They have two more days," he commented as he studied the fingernails on his left hand while an attendant filed the nails on the other hand. "Then the bargain is null and void and I can let my assassins handle the matter." 

"You never intended to pay them anyway," replied a man sitting at the desk facing the room's only window. He was looking over a ledger book through small spectacles. He made a few marks with a quill pen and blew on the wet ink to dry it. 

"Of course not," the first man snapped. "Why pay for something that you can get for free?" He waved the attendant away as he stood from the chair he had been lounging in. The attendant bowed and exited the room. The man strode to a mirror hanging on the wall and examined his long face. His brown eyes scanned over his neatly trimmed beard and his immaculately styled short black hair. "And with the girl in my possession, I will be unstoppable." He used a thumb to smooth his left brow. And he smiled. 

* * *

"There," Sabin pointed over the edge of the buoyant airship, Edgar joined him and looked down upon a ship docked at the port of Tzen, the northern most city on the South Continent.  

"It looks like they have the machinery to convert to an airship," Edgar stated in amazement.  "Incredible!  It looks like the air balloon is folded under the deck!"  Sabin jabbed his brother in the ribs.  Edgar sneered a bit but let it go.  "It's no wonder we lost them over the ocean."

"There is only one guard," Sabin observed as he saw a thin figure strolling the deck.  "It does look like they have been docked for long.  Terra might still be aboard."

"Might," Edgar agreed.  "But there might well be more men below deck.  We'll have to sneak onboard."

The twins glanced at each other, and in unison, shouted: "Locke!"  They both turned as they heard a faint coughing from behind some crates as Locke stepped into view.

"Fancy meeting you here," Locke snickered with fake surprise.  "What a beautiful day for some… treasure hunting."  He gave the royal twins a broad smile.  They both just rolled their eyes as they motioned him over to the railing over looking the second airship.

"Can you get us in with out getting noticed?" Sabin asked as Locke surveyed the situation below.

"My dear Sabin!" Locke jeered.  "You have so little faith in me."  Locke again flashed a smile.  "Do you know how to swim?"

"I'll get Setzer to drop us a few blocks away," Edgar stated and with that he turned on his heels and marched off to find the airship captain.  Sabin and Locke continued to survey the lone watchman on the deck of the foreign airship.

"It's a woman," Locke muttered after a moment's observation.  "A woman with a sword."  The airship lurched from its perch in the sky due east as it lost altitude slowly.  "The question now is:  Does she know how to use the sword."

"With friends like Terra and Celes," Sabin said curtly.  "I'm surprised that you even said that."  Sabin looked at the whimsically expressed Locke and strode off, with Locke in pursuit.  The duo found Edgar and Setzer at the helm; a rope was grasped in Edgar's hands.  Edgar walked to the side of the ship and securely tied the rope to the railing and tossed it over the edge.

"We are going to have to be dropped," Edgar stated as he grasped the rope firmly in his hands and stepped over the edge.  "We can't land in the city.  I suggest that you follow."  Sabin followed his twin once Edgar was on the ground, steadying the rope.  Locke followed, landing between the large duplicates.

Wordlessly, Edgar nodded his head in the correct direction and the trio walked single file down the crowded streets of Tzen to the marina where the boat was docked.  The town's people gave them no notice, being used to strange foreigners in their flourishing port city.

The company came to a halt as the tall buildings gave way to the marina and its host of ships, sailors, and fishermen.  

"What now?" Sabin asked as he located the ship they meant to infiltrate.  Locke snickered and glanced at Sabin.  A subtle but powerful push suddenly tipped Edgar off his balance and he tumbled over the edge of the marina and splashed loudly as his bulk contacted the marina water.  Locke laughed outright.

"You could have at least warned him," Sabin frowned just before he leapt in to join his brother.  Locke leapt in a short ways down the dock as to avoid the King of Figaro.  But the two royalties followed him, one determined and one annoyed.  The trio swam close to the dock and between the ships until they reached the ship they wanted.

Wordlessly, Locke signaled for them to stay near the stern of the ship as the dexterous thief scaled the side of the ship with ease.  He reached a porthole window about halfway up the side of the ship and eased it open with a lock pick.  He crawled in the smallish window, tumbling into an empty room.  Locke listened intently to the ship and heard no one approaching.  So he produced a strong rope from his baggy ocean soaked shirt, secured it to a support beam, and dropped the line down to the royal copies.

Sabin was the first to reach the window and squeezed his way through with slight difficulty.  Edgar was next, and didn't have as much trouble as his muscle bound brother.  The three silently wrung as much water out of their clothing as possible and then approached the door to the inner hallway of the ship.  

The three halted when they heard footfalls on the deck above them.  It was the woman guard pacing.  The three spies silently moved to the door and after listening for movement in the hall, Locke turned the knob and opened the door.  

To their immediate left was the stair leading up to the dock and to their right was a hall to other rooms.  The three of them snuck down the corridor quietly, each checking rooms as they reached the end of the hall.  At the end was a ladder leading down into the lower floor.

"We need to depart NOW," bellowed a deep voice from the upper deck as two sets of foot steps jumped onto the deck.  The third set, the look out, bolted across the deck, and the ship started to float away from the dock.  "Throw open that latch!" came another shout from the deep voice and accompanying clicks and cracks of large gates being opened.  

Before the three stowaways could react the ship also buoyed itself into the air while machinery in the lower decks chugged the air into the fabric balloon that carried the ship.  They were too high too quickly to be able to jump from the ship and too far out to be found if they survived the fall.

"What happened?" demanded a female voice from up above.

"Ambush," replied the deeper masculine voice.  "The deal was bogus from the beginning.  We were never going to get paid, just executed."

"So now what do we do with her?" the female demanded again.  But there was no answer.  "God damn it."

The three stowaways closed themselves in the least conspicuous room to hide and configure a plan to get Terra and get free.

"I think that she is still on the ship," Locke said quietly as he listened to the footsteps above them.  "It sounded like they had a deal to collect a reward on her and they were double crossed."

"Why don't you state the obvious," Sabin snapped angrily.  Locke just frowned a little bit but continued.

"I think that we should try to find her when the ship settles down for the night," Locke concluded.   Edgar nodded and Sabin just scowled.


	5. Part Five

Patriot noticed the other airship following an hour after they had departed Tzen due east.  Granger just frowned as he watched the other ship follow their every move.  They were still after Terra and were probably ready to use any force necessary to get her back.  

"I can't lose them," Patriot said.  "I can't out run them either."  Granger just frowned.  "What should I do?"  

"Just keep doing what you are doing," was Granger's reply.  "I'll figure something out."  The answer wasn't satisfactory but it would have to do for now.  Granger went below deck to find Terra, who was most likely still asleep.

* * *

Terra woke up to a light rapping on the door.  She rubbed her eyes, thankful to be free of her dreams, and stood up, adjusting her new baggy breeches and tunic.

"Enter," Terra said.

Granger opened the door and stepped in.

"We are free of Tzen but your would-be rescuers are still on our tail," Granger said with out leaving the doorway.

"They will stop at nothing to get me back," Terra confirmed his suspicions with a slight laugh.  Her eyes flicked instantly to behind Granger.

"And that's why we're here," spoke a husky familiar voice from the hallway.  Granger spun around and came to face to face with a tall lanky man with a black bandana covering pale blond cropped hair.  Before he could react, two burly twins set upon him from either side and he fell backwards into the bedchamber.

"Locke!" Terra cried in happiness and shock as she danced out of the way of the falling Granger.  The man smiled at her and stepped inside, admiring the grappling work of the two twins.  

"Sabin!" Terra gasped as the three men finally settled, Granger face down on the floor and Sabin holding Granger's arms behind him.  Edgar, who had landed on the floor as Sabin and Granger wrestled, stood up and brushed himself off and then nodded to Terra.

 "It's good to see that you are well, Terra," Edgar greeted, flashing his wide toothy grin at her with a wink.  "And what shall we to do to him?" Edgar asked of Locke with a slight smirk on his face.

"Nothing," Terra stated.  Edgar, Locke, and Sabin turned to look at her as she stood with her arms folded; calm, collected, and determined.  

"Granger," Terra began the introductions.  "These are my comrades Locke, Edgar, and Sabin.  Gentlemen, this is Granger, and although it doesn't look like it, he's on our side."

"Are you feeling alright, Terra?" Locke asked with a raised eyebrow.  "This guy kidnapped you."

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine," Terra insisted as she went over to Sabin and tried to pull the bulky man off Granger.  "Now release him."  Sabin looked up at her then, his blue eyes confused and a little hurt.  She didn't need rescuing after all.  "Let go."

"But he kidnapped you, and…" Locke protested again but Terra fixed him with a glare that quickly shut him up.  She pushed Sabin off of Granger and offered him a hand to help him up.  But he didn't accept it.  He pushed himself and stood with his arms crossed across his chest.

Locke raised an eye brow as he looked between Edgar, Sabin, and Granger.  The similarities were uncanny.  And Edgar and Sabin noticed it too as they gave Granger a good look over.  He had the same body structure, tall, broad shouldered, and he was blond as well with those signature brilliant blue eyes.

"Well first matter of business then," Edgar began with out breaking eye contact with Granger.  "Who was your employer and why did you do it."

 "Zemus.  And for the money, if the truth be told," Granger stated somberly.  Sabin growled but kept his distance, but his eyes were locked on Granger.

"How much is she worth to Zemus?" Locke asked as he leaned against the door frame, effectively blocking  the only way out of the room.

"1,000,000 gold pieces." Granger responded.

"That's a lot of money," Edgar mused as he crossed his arms over his armored chest.  

"Yes it is." Granger agreed.  "But he had no intention of paying," Granger half growled then.  "We were set upon by assassins before I even reached my contact in Tzen.  If it weren't for Terra I would have been killed."

"And if it weren't for Granger I would have never gotten out of there of my own accord," Terra finished.  The group looked between the two, Granger and Terra, and knew that it was the truth.

"Yes but it was Granger that put you in that situation in the first place," Edgar stated, then sighed.  "Come with me, Granger," Edgar said matter-of-fact tone.  "I need to signal our airship captain.  We should land and get this all straightened out."  

***          *          ***

Terra stood on the deck of the Falcon as it lifted off the ground.  She watched as the second airship, Scylla's Hope, became smaller and smaller on the ground.  Granger stood on the deck watching them depart.  His expression was that of pure defeat.  The gods only know what Edgar said to him.  Or what Sabin did to him.  But now the Falcon was pointed to Albrook in search of the lost King.

Celes approached then with a small burden in her arms.

"Edgar wanted me to return this to you," Celes said as she handed the burden to Terra.  Terra pulled the sword off the top first and recognized it as her own.  The light armor wrapped in the cloth beneath was hers too from when they battled Kefka.  "Seems like we can't keep out of trouble even now."

Terra just smiled, but then her smile soured.

"I don't know if I can keep this up with out my powers," Terra said bluntly with the soured smile still on her face.

"Of course you can," Celes retorted.  "You were trained by the best.  You were a member of the most elite soldiers in the world.  It's all reflex by now.  I know that Granger respects you for that."

Terra gave her a quick glance.

"He told us that you took two of those assassins down with your bare hands," Celes beamed.  "I'm quite impressed.  Image what you can do with that."  And Celes tapped Terra's sword still in her hands.

With that, Celes left her staring down at her sword.


	6. Part Six

Terra heard a familiar light knocking on her cabin door, but the door did not open of its own accord like it used to.  Instead she opened it to see Sabin standing there, expressions of hopefulness, confusion, regret, and anticipation on his handsome face.

"May I come in," Sabin asked timidly, his eyes openly imploring.  Terra nodded and opened the door wider to let the large man into her small room.  He stood in the center of the room in his traveling clothes, his baggy pants and equally baggy tunic and sandals on his feet.  Terra sat down on her bed that was built into the wall and sighed.

"I was beginning to think that you were never coming back," Terra started as she dangled her feet over the edge of the bed.  She had since changed into a nightgown that Patriot had given to her with a matching silk robe of black.  She had braided her hair in her old fashion, down her back and tied with a simple ribbon.  "It was hard to adjust to you not being around anymore."

"I'm sorry that I left so abruptly," Sabin finally apologized but Terra didn't even spare him as much as a glance.  Sabin was one of the most skilled fighters of the group but when it came to expressing himself in a subtle eloquent fashion, Sabin was a novice.  "I was confused about some things and I needed to meditate.  I couldn't focus in the castle."

"Did you finally find your focus?" Terra asked politely.

"Yes," Sabin said as he knelt at her side and grabbed up both her hands and held them firmly.  Terra looked up in surprise to find his deep blue eyes entreating her for her attention and affection.  "I came back for you," he finally spoke.  "And when I heard what had happened I almost went into a blind rage to find you.  You are my focus, Terra, I know that now.  I was a fool to not know earlier.  I just hope that I have not hurt you in my foolishness and you will accept me."

Terra gasped to find the words to reply, but her mind screeched to a halt as Sabin spoke words she never realized she wanted to hear.  And now as he spoke, pouring out his very soul, she was stunned.  And without her realizing it, tears welled up in her eyes and spilled down her pale cheeks.

"Oh please," Sabin begged.  "Please don't cry."  He reached up and wiped her tears from her cheeks.  But the tears kept coming down, no matter how many he wiped away.  He even felt a pinch in his throat as he watched her sob as if he too might shed tears.  

"Sabin," Terra finally muttered between heart wrenching sobs.  "I don't…  know…"  

Sabin tensed.

"I'm sorry, I have bothered you," Sabin stated with a sense of confusion and rejection.  He released Terra's hands and stood up.  "I will not trouble you anymore.  I will let you rest."

Sabin bowed slightly then turned on his heels.  He was to the door before Terra managed to say anything else.

"Sabin, wait." Terra cried.  Sabin stopped moving with his hand on the door latch and looked back.  Terra was standing, wiping her tears away.  Then she nodded to him and he knew it was the answer to his request.  

And then Terra smiled at him, the secret smile that only he ever saw.

*        *        *

Celes stood outside the privy, leaning against the wall early in the morn.  She had never had to use the bathroom so much in her life.  And the child had no concept of night or day.

Celes heard the click of a latch and turned to watch Sabin as he exited Terra's cabin and quietly closed the door behind him.  He had his workout uniform on for his morning routine.

Celes smiled to herself, happy for the both of them.

* * *

Terra woke to an empty bed that morning and frowned a little bit.  She had forgotten Sabin's strict work out regiment.  She hadn't even noticed him leave.  She rose out of bed, straightened her night gown, and went to her dresser.  She started her own morning routine, which consisted of washing up, brushing her hair and rebraiding it and choosing her clothes for the day.  She went for the clothes she had worn the day before and spotted her light armor and sword.  A slight smirk graced her lips.

It took Terra a moment to remember her old morning routine.  But after a minute, the stretches and muscle building techniques came back.  It had been too long since she had worked through her routine.  Once Kefka was defeated and she settled in Figaro Castle, she had completely stopped.  When she was done, she was sore from head to toe.  But it was a good sort of pain, and it would fade as the day went on.

Now she was ready for some breakfast.

* * *

The Falcon began its landing procedures as it hovered outside the city limits of Albrook.  Edgar and Locke stood near the docking gate ready to depart the moment the ship was securely on the ground.  Sabin was in meditation on the upper deck near where Setzer was barking orders to his crew.  Terra leaned against the railing on the bow of the ship in her armor and Celes was below deck sleeping.

Albrook looked like every other city on the southern continent, small, sleepy, and old.  But the band of heroes would not have a problem blending in with the presence of the royal guard still present even though the king had gone awry.  That also meant that there would be armor and weapon smiths to repair and upgrade the party's old armor and weapons.  So the search for the king would not start right away.

King Edgar would have to fortify himself first; and flirt with the pretty store clerks.


End file.
